Airport Employee Parking Not Secure

I wonder as I wander, no wait, Christmas is over. I wonder as I mosey through the security line at the airport, if everyone who provides security, meals, janitorial service, maintenance and mechanical support for the airport subject to the same examination as the traveling public.

There are so many nooks and crannies to an airport, it’s easy to imagine the many ways someone with a dangerous agenda could sneak in, or just walk in. In Tampa, employees at Tampa International Airport have expressed concerns that security fencing and identification procedures in the employee parking area are not adequate.

“Any whack job could get on the employee bus in Tampa,” said Florence Andrea Roberts, a Delta flight attendant who flies out of both Tampa and Orlando international airports. “Someone could pull out a gun and run rampant on the ramp.”

Airport officials have responded with a promise to address the situation, because nobody wants whack jobs on the runways. The author of the article pointed out that employees, like Ms. Roberts, could be sharing their stories with the local media in reaction to a recent rate increase for employee parking.

Tampa International officials, alerted to the issues that employees raised in more than two dozen interviews in recent weeks with The Tribune, said Tuesday that they will pursue improvements.

“It’s important that the people who work at the airport and use our employee buses feel safe,” Janet Zink, assistant vice president of media and government relations, wrote in an email.

That will not require any increase in parking rates beyond those recently imposed, Zink added.